Honda dealership looks to join Peugeot at Ferring site

A Honda dealership’s plans to relocate from Littlehampton to Ferring are set to be discussed by councillors next week.

Yeomans is looking to extend its existing Peugeot dealership and build a new head office facility at its current site off Littlehampton Road.

But its planning application also includes plans to move its Honda dealership, currently based in Littlehampton’s Horsham Road, to its Ferring site.

The bungalow to the west of its existing premises would be demolished.

Plans are set to be discussed by Arun District Council’s development control committee next Wednesday (August 8), with officers recommending approval subject to conditions.

A total of 22 letters of objection have been received, compared to three letters of support.

Both Ferring and Kingston’s parish councils have also objected.

Objectors raised concerns about overdevelopment, the impact on the countryside and potential to cause more traffic congestion.

According to council planning officers the application is for the relocation of an existing business within the district as the applicant has stated the current premises in Littlehampton are no longer fit for purpose and the Honda dealership needs to be located in the eastern part of the district.

They concluded: “The development does not give rise to unacceptable harm in design and visual amenity terms. It is also not harmful to amenity in general and is acceptable in highway impact terms.

“The character of the area within which the site is located is not that of open uninterrupted countryside in terms of character and appearance. The vicinity of the site has the character of a reasonably well defined developed area within the wider open countryside. The area is a comparatively compact one and there are not considered to be unacceptable implications for the wider open countryside nor for the setting of the South Downs National Park.”